Device and method for making a fishing lure

Abstract

A harness lure tying device comprises a plurality of beads and a spinner disposed on a shaft having an axial bore therethrough and removable retainers at opposite ends of the shaft. The removal of one or the other retainers permits the beads and spinner to be slid onto and off the shaft into and out of engagement with a leader line during the tying of a harness lure or the replacement of the beads and blade of a harness for those of another.

I claim: 
     
       1. A fishing lure harness tying device, comprising: a shaft having opposite ends and an axial bore of a diameter enabling said shaft to be slid onto and off of a leader line;   an artificial bait having a circumferentially continuous inner wall defining an axial passageway through said bait of a diameter enabling said bait to be slid onto and off of said shaft; and   a pair of retainers mounted on said ends of said shaft to retain said bait releasably on said shaft, said retainers being removable individually from said shaft to enable said bait to be slid onto and off of said shaft from either of said ends thereof, whereby said bait is attachable to the leader by removing a selected one of said retainers from an end of said shaft to unblock said end, sliding said unblocked end of said shaft onto the leader, sliding said bait off of the unblocked end of said shaft directly onto the leader, and thereafter sliding said shaft off of the leader.   
     
     
       2. The device of claim 1 wherein said retainers comprise tubular resilient sleeve members having axial bores of a diameter slightly less than the outer diameter of said shaft engaging said shaft with frictional force sufficient to retain said sleeve members in position on said shaft while enabling said sleeves to be slid off of said ends of said shaft in response to application of a bodily pulling force on said sleeves. 
     
     
       3. The device of claim 2 wherein said sleeves include circumferentially spaced external splines extending the length of said sleeves. 
     
     
       4. The device of claim 1 wherein said shaft has an outer cylindrical surface of generally uniform diameter. 
     
     
       5. The device of claim 4 wherein said outer diameter of said shaft is about 0.06 inches. 
     
     
       6. The device of claim 5 wherein said bore of said shaft has a diameter of about 0.03 inches. 
     
     
       7. The device of claim 5 wherein said passageway of said bait is slightly larger than said outer diameter of said shaft such that said bait is slidable along said shaft. 
     
     
       8. The device of claim 1 wherein said bait comprises a plurality of individual beads. 
     
     
       9. The device of claim 1 wherein said bait includes a plurality of individual beads, a U-shaped clevis, and a blade carried by said clevis. 
     
     
       10. A method of tying a harness lure for fishing, comprising: obtaining a length of flexible leader line having leading and trailing ends thereof;   obtaining a harness tying device comprising a first elongate tubular shaft having opposite leading and trailing ends and an axial bore between said ends of a diameter enabling the shaft to be slid onto and off of the leader line, a first selected artificial bait supported on said shaft having a circumferentially continuous inner wall defining an axial passageway along the length of the bait, and a pair of removable retainers supported on the ends of the shaft;   in a selected order, attaching a connector to the leading end of the leader and a fish hook to the trailing end of the leader;   prior to the attachment of the latter of said connector and said hook to said leader, removing a selected one of the retainers from a first end of the shaft, sliding the first end of the shaft onto the leader, sliding the bait off the first end of the shaft and directly onto the leader, and thereafter sliding the shaft off of the leader thereby to dispose the bait on the leader.   
     
     
       11. The method of claim 10 wherein the connector is attached to the leader prior to attaching the hook and the first end of the shaft comprises its leading end. 
     
     
       12. The method of claim 11 wherein the hook has a shank formed with an eye at a leading end thereof and is attached to the leader by a snell knot tied with the assistance of the shaft by passing the trailing end of the leader through the eye of the hook so that a trailing length of leader extends beyond the hook, positioning the shaft along side the shank of the hook, wrapping a portion of the trailing length of leader several times about the shaft and shank, passing the trailing end of the leader through the bore of the shaft, and thereafter applying a tension force to the trailing end of the leader and sliding the shaft from the leader to tighten the wrapped portion about the shank thereby securing the hook to the leader. 
     
     
       13. The method of claim 11 wherein the bait is directional and is arranged initially on the shaft with leading and trailing ends of the bait adjacent the leading and trailing ends of the shaft, respectively. 
     
     
       14. The method of claim 13 including obtaining a second harness tying device of the same construction as the harness tying device of claim 13 defining a second like shaft, a second selected bait, and a second like pair of removable retainers on the shaft; and changing the first selected bait on the leader for the second selected bait by detaching the connector from the leading end of the leader, removing the first selected bait from the leader, removing the retainer from a trailing end of the second shaft, sliding the trailing end of the second shaft onto the leading end of said leader, sliding the second selected bait off of said shaft and onto the leader, and thereafter sliding said second shaft off of the leader and reattaching said connector to the leading end of said leader to capture said second selected bait on said leader. 
     
     
       15. The method of claim 14 wherein the removal of said first selected bait in claim 14 is carried out with the assistance of the shaft of the first tying device by removing the retainer from a trailing end of said first shaft, sliding the trailing end of said first shaft onto the leading end of the leader, sliding the first selected bait onto the first, and thereafter sliding said first shaft and said first selected bait off of the leader as a unit and reattaching the retainer to the trailing end of said first shaft. 
     
     
       16. The method of claim 10 wherein the bait includes a plurality of beads, a clevis and a blade carried on the clevis. 
     
     
       17. The method of claim 10 including preparing a variety of interchangeable baits by selecting combinations of plastic beads and spinner devices, sliding each selected combination onto a respective shaft like that of said first shaft, and securing the prepared bait combinations on their shafts by attaching removable retainers on the ends of the shafts; and interchanging the bait on the leader for a selected different one of the prepared bait combinations by detaching the connector from the leading end of the leader, removing the first bait from the leader, removing the retainer from the trailing end of the shaft on which the selected bait combination is disposed, sliding a trailing end of said shaft onto the leading end of said leader, sliding the selected bait combination off of said shaft and onto the leader, and thereafter sliding said shaft off of the leader and reattaching said connector to the leading end of said leader to capture said selected bait combination on said leader. 
     
     
       18. A harness lure tying kit, comprising: artificial bait including an assortment of plastic beads and spinner devices that can be arranged in any of a number ways to provide a variety of bait combinations, said beads having central axial passageways of predetermined diameter therethrough that open at their opposite ends and are substantially closed between said ends enabling said beads to be self-supporting on a leader line; at least a first elongate tubular shaft having opposite ends and an outer surface of a diameter no larger than the diameter of said passageways of said beads enabling a selected one of said variety of bait combinations to be slid onto and off of said ends of said shaft, said shaft further having an axial bore extending between said ends of a diameter enabling said shaft to slide onto and off of a leader line; and   at least a pair of retainers removably disposable on said opposite ends of said first shaft securing said selected bait combination on said shaft when said retainers are disposed on said ends of said shaft while enabling said selected bait combination to be slid off of and onto said shaft from a selected one of said ends of said shaft upon the removal of the associated said retainer from said selected end of said shaft.   
     
     
       19. The kit of claim 18 wherein there are a plurality of said shafts and associated said retainer pairs. 
     
     
       20. The kit of claim 18 wherein said assortment of said beads includes a plurality of individual beads of a variety of different colors. 
     
     
       21. The kit of claim 18 including leader line and fish hooks.